More is more: investigating attention distribution between the television and second screen applications - A case study with a synchronised second screen video game

Attention is a key concept for the design of second screen applications that are to be used while watching television (TV). One of the key design goals is to balance the user's attention between the second screen application and the TV content. To investigate the influence of interactivity on attention and overall perceived workload and user experience, we developed video games with varying degrees of interactivity allowing users to play while watching a TV show. The small games were synchronized with the TV show in both the temporal dimension (presenting games as the show progressed) and with the content (enabling users to play games similar to the storyline in the TV show). Results from a laboratory-based user study show that highly interactive video games that are interleaved with the content, draw up to seventy percent of attention on the game (tablet) and are judged with a perceived workload similar to doing real 'work' while watching TV. Nevertheless participants rated the games as fun to play with a high user experience.